The highlight of the TCAF 2009

To the left is a photo my wife took of the only person creating comics that I actually act nervous around. His name is Yoshihiro Tatsumi. And he is pictured signing my copy of his autobiographical opus, A Drifting Life at TCAF.
I rarely ask for signatures at conventions or art festivals. When artists ask me if I want something signed, I usually acquiesce graciously. I don't know why.
I also have a problem waiting in lines. I missed a very good panel discussion starring Scott McCloud and Stuart Immonen because the line was snaking throughout the room and everyone else seemed to be 19 years old and acting like it. Nothing against 19 year olds, but standing amongst 30 of them, well…I think you get it.
This opportunity to meet Mr. Tatsumi, the creator of gekiga, and attending the panel discussion on Friday evening before the Toronto Comic Arts Festival were the highlights of the entire comic filled weekend. The panel consisted of Adrian Tomine, Seth and ended with an interview by Tomine of Tatsumi. SO GOOD!
The other great moments were meeting quite a lot of young, super-talented folks that were, well, super talented. I've also had the splendid opportunity to chitchat with my good friends Stuart and Kathryn Immonen (again). Funny thing was, we're standing there smack dab in the middle of this huge room full of comic art and comic folk and we're talking about homeowning and dining preferences. The only time we ever talked about comics was when Kathryn snatched up my purchases to see what I bought. That conversation was quicker than discussing the weather on a clear day. Lovely folks, as always. Hugs all around!
The next treat was goofing off with the Transmission-X dudes. Cameron Stewart, Karl Kerschl and Ramón Pérez to be precise. There were other awesome folks there under that umbrella, but I can only vouch for these three. My lovely wife is a huge fan of Karl's Abominable Charles Christopher webcomic. There was tension 'tween the two because the story has developed into something my wife does not approve of concerning one of her favorite characters. The high-energied, Ramón took it upon himself to bring healing to the situation by talking about different ways to kill things with guns. It was funnier than it reads (During this, Karl sprinted off a great sketch for my wife of said character). I got a kick out of Ramón's demented sense of humor. This was one of those situations where I am now a follower of Mr. Pérez's work because I like HIM, not his talent. See for yourself by checking out his inferior webcomic, Kukuburi. ;) <---to show that I am only kidding.
There was an entire van-full of people that I met and would love to embellish on*, but I have to get to work. I'm eagerly looking forward to drawing ever since this weekend. Hopefully, the inspiration achieved by this show will be self-evident in weeks to come. Thanks for visiting.

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* artists such as:
the adorable Kate Beaton
the sensual Dharbin
the sultry John Malloy
the foxy Chip Zdarsky
the I-own-all-his-work-so-I-could-only-buy-a-pin Matt Kindt
the adorable John Martz